Chol Janepraphaphan

A few weeks before our portrait session, a mutual contact suggested I meet Chol Janepraphaphan when I arrived in Chiang Mai. A writer and curator at Jing Jai Gallery, he welcomed me warmly, and we fell into an easy conversation over coffee. We soon discovered a surprising number of connections. He was especially intrigued to learn that I had worked with one of his favourite bands, Srirajah Rockers. Chol also spoke about his own move to Chiang Mai a couple of years earlier and about becoming a father.

When I returned a few days later to photograph him, we used the gallery as the backdrop, catching the last light of the day. Chol’s expression in front of the camera was quite serious, but our conversation was anything but.